Thank you so much for the comments on the Teflon and dangers to our caged feathered friends. Reading all the other advise and comments were beginning to scare me that no one knew about this deadly hazarded.
I also want to thank the Prosthodontist for his informative comments. I still prefer to not take any chances with aluminum since any future test results won't do me any good after the fact. I don't find the use of aluminum any thing I will miss. My original question was to find out rather Nordicware was made with Teflon. It appears it is and so I search for a grill to put on top of the stove that doesn't have such things on it.
Does one exist?

Has anyone heard of Saladmaster? It it a higher price point than the other mentions, but it is the only one that will not allow the unhealthy aluminum to react or leach into the food because of the 316L metal used on the inside. It is a full-body even heat and makes food taste better as well. Just wanted to through that out there since it wasn't mentioned in the metals of stainless steel.

I recently purchased a 12" saute pan by Gourmet Standard and I love it!! Before that, I had purchased a complete set plus extra pieces of Analon Titanium, which I had thought was the optimum cookware, jack of all trades. I was wrong. You need different types of cookware for different food. I was always a believer in the non-stick, being health conscience. But using it is counter-productive. Even though it is non-stick, you still need to add some oil. Since the pan is non-stick, the oil doesn't stick to the pan. When you swirl the pan to spread the oil, it just pools up. When you then add your food to the pan, it absorbs that puddle of oil, so much for low fat cooking. And that's all you are doing with nonstick pans is just adding heat to food, nothing to do with bring out flavors or caramelizing food or any techinque having to do with the craft of cooking. The conclusion I arrived at after cooking for 12 years (experimenting, researching, reading tons or cookbooks, and approaching a new recipe as nothing less than a project, I guess I am just a frustrated engineer), I discovered all I need is the Gourmet Standard 12" Tri-ply saute pan for cooking everything but eggs. For eggs, I find I need a nonstick skillet (fry pan). Right now I have the Analon Titanium non-stick, which works very well. The next one I will get will be the Gourmet Standard Tri-ply with nonstick coating. It is difficult to get anything to adhere to aluminum. The best adhesive for Al is C-8, which is toxic and the major players say they don't use is anymore, but tests have found traces of it in there cookware. But stainless steel doesn't have the same issues as Al, to their options open up for nonstick coatings and its adhesives, theoretically they should be able to produce a kick- a@# product, with superior nonstick capability that won't flake off. I also discoved that gourmet standard makes a tri-ply cookie sheet with non-stick coating. I just ordered it from amazon. hopefully it will live up to my expectations. the cookware is aluminum tri-ply. they are constructed and look just like all clad for 1/3 the price. the 12' saute was about $100. So far the best pan I have cooked in. Easy clean up to, because of the nickel coating. love it, highly recommend it!!!!!

I was hoping to find a cookware that works best with high heat such as gas flame. I just got a new gas range going from an electric and all of my pots and pans are non stick. A couple of them are Aluminum with a copper bottom. What I am finding is that the Aluminum gets hot around the sides of the pot because the flame is round. Burning food and staining the inner sides of my pans. The non stick scares me because it is not supposed to be exposed to such high heat. What works best with flame cooking? Also do you know of cast iron types that have heat qripping handles that don't burn your hands?

much depends on how you cook and the extend of your own personal "demands"
huh? you said?

my dear mother does not know the meaning of "sear" and survived just fine for decades with her RevereWare
however if you tend to do high heat type stuff, you may find RevereWare lacking "technique support"

on the other hand, you can boil / steam green beans in anything.

I have a Farberware stainless pot with clad bottom that is de-laminating - severely - to the point it's headed for the trash.
so "clad" cookware is also not the end of all things.

non-stick:
yup - you've got a problem there. gas can overheat a non-stick pan to 400-500'F in very short order - and convert a non-stick to a super-stick in just a few seconds - and kill your pet bird just as quick.
that said, I use non-stick all the time on a larger diameter high BTU nat gas burner - do NOT go for the "preheat the pan" thing....
works fine for sauting mushrooms / high moisture content schufft you need in short order.

trying to fry an egg in a thin stainless - copper clad or other - over gas is an interesting exercise.
not recommended when cooking for company, but educational - and very much in tune for the times - instant graduation from that idea . . . .

cast iron - great stuff.
handles: I actually have one square frying pan with a screw in wooden handle.
one point of cast iron is cooktop-to-oven.
the high end 'other' brands do not have "plastic" knobs or handles that will stand up to high oven temps over time.
so, if you do cooktop-to-oven, get some potholders & trivets.

if you watch the cooking shows, it's most interesting to observe the background of real restaurants - seen now and then, depending on chef / show - real locations that prepare food - not film stages.
I can categorize two "real" scenes:
- a not high end place. run of the mill aluminum saute/fry pans - all warped and grungy.
- the higher end places - racks and racks of grungy copper pots/fryers/sautes/sauce pans hanging about.

a third scene is stuff like Julia Childs' home kitchen - walls of hanging copper pots & molds - all brightly shined. never used; decoration.

. . . . What I am finding is that the Aluminum gets hot around the sides of the pot because the flame is round. Burning food and staining the inner sides of my pans. . . . .

What you have noticed about the burning of food on thew sides of pans is common on gas stoves because just about every one on the market has a ring shaped burner, which allows the flame to basically go around the sides of the pan without actually heating the bottom. You should try a smaller diameter burner. If you can afford it, getting a REAL restaurant stove or a Thermador professional home stove, both of which, have star shaped burners, which heat the entire bottom of the pan, is also a good thing to do.

I am looking for information on Lifetime Cookware. I'd like an engineers perspective on the 12 element construction. The website for their stuff is cookwareamerica.com. The stuff looks really good. Any thoughts?

There is no one best material for cookware. Cookware is a lot like shoes. It depends on what you plan on doing in it and your personal preferences. In a snowy winter you need ones that are tall, heavy leather and have deep spikey soles, for summer you might want sandals to stay cool, for temperate climates, you might want comfy sneakers and for a black tie affair, you need glossy patent leather.

As Dilbert said the type of pan you use depends on what you are cooking in it.